SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

• • ’’ * 


Howto Obtain Proof 

OF 

Service of an Ancestor 


BEING THE 


Report of the Historian Genera^, s. A. R. 


READ AT THE 


ANNUAL CONGRESS OF THE SOCIETY, 

APRIL 30, 1S92. 



THE REPUBLIC PRESS, 

536 PEARL ST., NEW YORK. 











HISTORIAN GENERAL’S REPORT. 


Mr. President General and Gentlemen: 

Desirous of performing some task, which will be of service to the Society, I 
have prepared a statement of how to obtain, and the sources to which application 
should be made for, proof of the service of one’s ancestor Or ancestors in the 
American Revolution. A large number of persons who are seeking admission to 
Societies of the Sons (and Daughters) of the American Revolution have been com¬ 
pletely in the dark how to proceed. 

7 am indebted to Secretary General Cresap for the following tabular statements 
of the number who served in the Revolution, which will indicate in a measure 
the large number of people now living who must be eligible to membership in 
our Societies: 


ESTIMATED POPULATION (WHITES), 1775. 
(accepted by the united states census bureau). 


COLONIES. 
New Hampshire 
Massachusetts, . 
Rhode Island.. 
Connecticut. .. . 

Georgia. 

New York. 

New Jersey. .. 
Pennsylvania.... 
Delaware....... 

Maryland. 

Virginia. 

North Carolina. 
South Carolina. . 


POPULATION (WHITES). 

. 102,000 

. 352,000 

. 58,000 

. 262,000 

. 27,000 

. 238,000 

,.... 138,000 

.. 34i,ooo 

. 37,ooo 

174,000 

. 300,000 

. 181,000 

. 93,ooo 


Total 


2,303,000 



















SOLDIERS OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 


SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 


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PROOF OF SERVICE 


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ADDITIONAL MILITIA EMPLOYED, 1775-1783. 

CONJECTURED BY WAR DEPARTMENT, 1 783. 


SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 


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a year ('/ 2 year), that State is credited with 500 for the whole year. If 1,000 for three months year), credit is given for 250 for that year. 
















































































PROOF OF SERVICE OF AN ANCESTOR. j 

STATE QUOTAS, SOLDIERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 


1775 - 1783 . 



CONTI¬ 

NENTALS. 

MILITIA. 

ADDI¬ 

TIONAL 

MILITIA. 

TOTAL 

TROOPS. 

PERCENTAGE ! 

OF THE 

WHOLE. 

PERCENTAGE ^ 

OF WHOLE 

POPULATION. 

PERCENTAGE 

OF SHARE. 

New Hampshire. 

12,496 

982 

783 

I4,26i 

4-3 

4.1 

105 

Massachusetts. 

67,907 

10,453 

2,083 

80,443 

24.5 

15-3 

l6o 

Rhode Island. 

5,908 

1,858 

750 

8,516 

2.6 

2-5 

104 

Connecticut.. . . 

32,039 

7,792 

666 

40,497 

12.3 

11.4 

ip8 

Delaware. 

2,387 

376 

167 

2,930 

1.0 

1,6 

56 

Maryland.. 

14,212 

3,929 

667 

18,808 

5.8 

7-5 

‘ 77 

Virginia. 

20,872 

2,894 

10,237 

40,003 

12.1 

13-3 

9 i 

North Carolina. 

7,263 

2,706 

9,167 

I9,136 

5-8 

7-9 

73 

South Carolina. ....... 

5, 508 



20.467 

6.2 

4 T 

1 F I 

Georgia. 

2,679 


^ jy 

8,650 

11,329 

3-5 

1.2 

29I 

New York. 

17,781 

2,383 

2,875 

23,039 

7.0 

IO.3 

68 

Pennsylvania. .. 

25,608 

4,876 

500 

30,984 

9.4 

14.8 

64 

New Tersey. 

10,727 

6,055 

1,250 

18,032 

5-5 

6.0 

92 

Totals. 

23 L 387 

44,304 

52,654 

328,345 

100. 

100. 



Notes: —The figures in Tables referring to Troops were obtained from War 
Department Reports, and those to population from the Census Bureau. 

The Additional Militia,” or short time Troops, have been placed upon equal 
footing upon the basis of time employed—as explained in Table 4. 

In the Summary, the last column shows the ratio of what each State did furnish 
to what she should have furnished (considering population),.but it is hardly to be 
interpreted as the exponent of patriotism, for many reasons. It is also to be noted 
that the troops of Georgia were largely drawn from the Carolinas and some from 
Maryland and Virginia. 

Undoubtedly, the first step is to trace one’s lineage back to the Revolu¬ 
tion by as many lines of descent as possible. Every man must make this search 
in his own way, guided by family tradition. He must consult family Bibles, the 
memory of relatives, old letters, and the records of the towns and counties in which 
his ancestors lived. Considerable correspondence is often necessary to obtain 
missing links of lineage; but the task is a delightful one; and he who once begins 
the fascinating search for an ancestor, will never stop until he finds either that he 
actually has one or has not. County and town clerks and surrogates are reasonably 
prompt and generally most courteous in answering inquiries sent to them. And if 
a prolonged search of local records is necessary in any case, they are generally 
willing to name some person, either in their employ or in the same town, who, for 
a very moderate compensation, will make the search. 

Alter the names and residences of the men of the family who lived in the time 
of the Revolution have been ascertained, the next step is to ascertain if they served. 
It is exactly at this point that the greatest caution is necessary. There may have 
been two men in the same town of the same name, one of whom served and the 
other did not. Family traditions and family records are in this case always im¬ 
portant and useful guides. 



















































8 


SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 


The sources to which application must be made for proof of service are, 
naturally, to be found chiefly in the original thirteen States, or in the District of 
Columbia. I will enumerate the States in geographical order: 

MAINE. 

• ' V » , 4 

Maine has no official records, documentary or otherwise, of the service of her 
citizens in the American Revolution. Maine was a province of Massachusetts 
until 1820, and proof of service of her citizens and of the numerous soldiers who 
settled within her borders after the peabe, must be sought for, as a rule, in Massa¬ 
chusetts and other States. 


NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

The records of service of New Hampshire men are substantially complete. 
They have been printed in four volumes, of the “New Hampshire State Papers,” 
namely: Vol. 14, printed in 1885; vol. 15, printed in 1886; vol. 16, in 1887; and 
vol. 17, printed in 1889. Names, commands, rank and dates of enlistment and 
discharge are given with great fullness. Isaac W. Hammond, the compiler, pro¬ 
cured the rolls and data upon which these books are based, from every available 
source within and without the State. It is believed that there are no documents, 
in the possession of private citizens in the State, which have not been carefully ex¬ 
amined and drawn from in the preparation of these four books. There may be 
some at Washington. Descendants of New Hampshire, wishing for proof of the 
service of their ancestors, should write to the Adjutant General of the State, Con¬ 
cord, N. H., who will promptly direct a search to be made. The labor of exami¬ 
nation will be performed after regular office hours, by a clerk, and he must be paid 
for his time. Probably $2 or $3 will secure the search, and the Adjutant General 
will send a certificate without further charge. 

A few copies of the New Hampshire books are held for sale by Otis PI. Ham¬ 
mond, Concord, N. PI. 

A very large number of Revolution soldiers are alluded to in the numerous 
Town Histories of New Hampshire, which have been published during recent 
years. Copies of these books are in possession of the New Hampshire Historical 
Society, 212-214 North Main St., Concord, N. H., and there may possibly be some 
names in these volumes, not referred to in the State books, or some additional par¬ 
ticulars. The Recording Secretary, John C. Ordway, will answer any questions 
which are sent him to the extent of his ability. 

Mention may be made of the fact that there is in existence a published His¬ 
tory of the First New Hampshire Regiment in the War of the Revolution. 

Various rolls of New Hampshire militia regiments exist at Washington, in 
the War Department. Most of them nave been consulted in the preparation of 
the State book. 

VERMONT. 

Vermont sent about 5,000 men into the Revolution armies; and the names 
of most of them are in the possession of the Adjutant General of the State, at 
Montpelier, The records have been compiled from pay rolls, vouchers, pension 
lists, and other similar documents. Gen. Theodore S. Peck, Adjutant General of 


PROOF OF SERVICE OF AN ANCESTOR. 


9 


the State, an active member of the Vermont Society, Sons of the American Revo¬ 
lution, has taken great interest in making these records accessible; and there is 
now in possession of the State an index of all the names contained in the various 
papers. A fee of from $i to $3 is charged, according to the time consumed, for 
making a search of the records. Applications should be addressed to the Adjutant 
General of Vermont, at Montpelier. The search will be made by Mrs. James S. 
Peck, who has been authorized to supply information of this class, and who has 
devoted much time and labor to a study of the records. Gen. Peck will send a 
certificate of service. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

While Massachusetts supplied more men than any other State for the Ameri¬ 
can Revolution, she has never printed a roll of their names. In the office of the 
Secretary of the Commonwealth at Boston, however, there are 60 volumes of origi¬ 
nal muster rolls of men who were in the militia service, and 21 volumes of records 
of service in the Continental Army. Upon payment of a fee of $3, the Secretary 
of the Commonwealth will cause a search to be made for the name of a soldier or 
sailor of the Revolution and will supply a certified copy of the record of service. 
As these rolls have not yet been completely indexed, the Secretary requests that 
“ name of town where enlisted ” shall be supplied, if possible, and any other in¬ 
formation which will help to identify the soldier. 

It is the belief of the Hon. William M. Olin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 
from whom these facts are obtained, that the names of very nearly all of the sol¬ 
diers, who served from Massachusetts, appear somewhere in the manuscript vol¬ 
umes in his care. A complete card index is now in preparation. 

But there are other sources of information. The American Antiquarian So¬ 
ciety at Worcester, Mass., has collected a great variety of records of the Revolu¬ 
tion. Muster rolls, army orders, and military papers of various dates from 1745 
to 1787, have come into its hands in large numbers, together with a most interest¬ 
ing collection of orderly books. In 1881, these documents were all loaned to the 
State authorities of Massachusetts and are now in the possession of the Secretary 
of the Commonwealth. The Society retains, however, a large mass of family and 
biographical records, and a library of 100,000 books, which have been largely re¬ 
sorted to for genealogical researches, and will continue to be. The Librarian of 
the Society, Edmund M. Barton, has a trained assistant, who will examine the 
material on hand, and search for Revolution ancestry, at a charge of 30 cents 
per hour. Some of the orderly books, collected by this Society, relate to the 
troops of other States. 

Another valuable collection of muster rolls, orderly books, account books, 
personal diaries, town papers, official letters, etc., of the period of the Revolution, 
is in the possession of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, 18 Somer¬ 
set Street, Boston, Mass. These records have been accumulating for the last 45 
years. The work of arranging them has been recently begun. There are more 
than 2,000 separate lots in manuscript. One lot, the Gen. Henry Knox papers, 
contains about 12,000 letters, many of them from Washington. A collection of 
John Hancock’s papers equals that of Knox's in number. There are several 
thousands of Paymaster Genera) Ebenezer Hancock’s papers. Walter K. Watkins, 
the Assistant Librarian, a member of the Massachusetts S. A. R., is well qualified, 


IO 


SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 


by his familiarity with the sources of information both in the Society’s possession 
and at the State House, to make searches for ancestry. He charges a fee of $2 or 
$3 for so doing. Necessary correspondence with town and county clerks may re¬ 
quire an extra charge. 

Additional records have been collected by the Public Library, Woburn, Mass., 
to which the Rumford Historical Association of the same city has contributed. 
They include manuscript rolls and documents, besides several hundred receipted 
town orders signed by men who performed active military service. 1 hese are in¬ 
dexed, and the Librarian, William R. Cutter, will render such aid to seekers after 
information (descendants of that town) as lies in his power. 

Massachusetts also abounds in Town and County Histories. These books 
are found in the libraries of the Historical Societies, and contain many forgot¬ 
ten facts of great interest about the services of particular men. 

The Dedham Historical Society, Dedham, Mass., can supply the names of 
207 men, who served from that town. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

The first of the States to publish a book was Rhode Island. Benjamin 
Cowell, whr bad been engaged for many years in prosecuting claims, growing out 
of the American Revolution, and who had collected a large quantity of pay and 
depreciation accounts, muster rolls, and so on, printed a book, in 1850, entitled 
“ The Spirit of ’76 in Rhode Island.” The work contains more than 3,000 names 
and a large amount of historical information. The names are not indexed, 
and the record is not complete, but the book is, nevertheless, exceedingly 
valuable. 

Other sources of information are the “ Rhode Island Colonial Records,” and 
S. G. Arnold's History of Rhode Island. 

Application for information may also be made to Amos Perry, Librarian 
of the Rhode Island Historical Society, at Providence, R. I. They will be 
referred to a competent person, who will make a search for a small compen¬ 
sation. 

The Newport, R. I., Historical Society has an excellent library of State, 
County and Town Histories, and of Town and Church records, to which refer¬ 
ence can also be had. 

CONNECTICUT. 

The Connecticut book is probably well known to all. It is a large, handsome, 
quarto volume, well bound, and is entitled “Record of Connecticut Men in the 
War of the Revolution.” This work, authorized by a resolution introduced into 
the Legislature by Hon. Wm. Wallace Lee of Meriden, a member of the Connex- 
ticut S. A. R., was published in 1889, after many years of diligent research. 
The editor, Prof. Henry P. Johnson, is connected with the College of the City of 
New York, 17 Lexington Avenue, New York. There are 27,823 names in this 
admirable book, and the company, regiment, residence and length of service are 
given in nearly every case. The names are well indexed, and in every respect this 
book is a great publication. The cost to purchasers is $5 a copy. Application 
for it should be made to the Adjutant General of Connecticut,' Hartford, Conn. 


PROOF OF SERVICE OF AN ANCESTOR. 


11 

It is not too much to say that every Soc iety in the States west of Connecticut 
should certainly have one copy. An idea may be gained of what was involved in 
the publication of the Connecticut book when I say that the clerical labor at 
Washington alone cost over $20,000. While the Connecticut book is a model for 
works of this class, it is now known to be somewhat incomplete. Several thousand 
names arc known to have been omitted. They could not be secured in time for 
publication. Possibly some of them never will be. A supplementary volume 
will probably be issued, in time, when sufficient data have been accumulated. 

At some day, fit is to be hoped not far in the future) an additional source of 
of information will be developed in the archives of The Connecticut Historical 
Society at Hartford', incorporated in 1825, and the custodian of many important 
papers. The collections of this Society are not at present in condition for refer¬ 
ence. They are packed away in chests and drawers, and have not yet been bound. 
Three of the Quartermasters of the army of the American Revolution were from 
Connecticut, and their accounts are in possession of the Society. There are also a 
large number of company books; the Trumbull papers; the Wolcott papers; 
Jeremiah Wadsworth’s papers; and the papers of Mix, Johnson, Silas Deane, and 
others. It is impossible to tell, at present, just what the Society does not have. 
The Society is in need of funds; and if the money could be supplied, a large quan¬ 
tity of valuable records could be placecl in condition for examination. The Secre¬ 
tary, Frank B. Gay, could not, at present, undertake to search through them for 
records of service. 

There are also records of undoubted value in the possession of The New 
Haven Colony Historical Society, which have never been utilized. They were not 
examined when the State’s book was in preparation. It is the intention of the Ad* 
jutant General of the State, however, to have them carefully scrutinized before the 
issue of the proposed supplementary'volume. The Society is now “ in storage,” 
awaiting the completion of its new building, and its records are therefore not at 
present accessible. Dwight E. Bowers is the Librarian. 

Hinman’s “ Historical Collection from Official Records and Files of the part 
sustained by' Connecticut during the War of the Revolution,” is an important 
source of information. 

The orderly books of Colonel Webb, the ancestor of our President General, 
are in existence and have lately come into Dr. Webb’s possession. They contain 
many names. 

NEW YORK. 

New York has published a book, entitled “Archives of the State of New York, 
Part I.” It was issued in 1887 under the direction of the Regents of the Univer¬ 
sity. It is a large, handsome, and valuable volume. This work was compiled by 
Berthold Fernow, Esq., of Kingston, N. Y., as editor, who exhausted every avail¬ 
able source of information, including muster rolls, minutes of committees of 
safety, pension records, and so on. More that 40,000 names are given, and the 
book is well indexed. Copies may be obtained from the State Library at Albany, 
N. Y., for $5 each. It is suggested that it would be well for each State Society 
to supply itself with a copy of this volume. 

The New' York book, like the others, is not, however, entirely complete. 
Many rolls are missing. Possibly these can in future be supplied. There are a 


12 


SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION . 


number of muster rolls of companies of the New York Continental Line in private 
hands; and undoubtedly there are other records whose existence has not been re¬ 
ported. For instance, the original Journal of the Committee of Safety of Albany 
County, for two years, which is full of names, is in my own possession, having 
lain hidden in my father’s library at Auburn, New York, until his death, last fall. 
The Ulster County Committee of Safety Journals are still missing; they are not at 
Kingston; they may possibly be in private hands, but no knowledge as to where 
they can be fodnd is in the possession of the Regents of the University. There is 
need of a fresh search for additional records of the Revolution in New York State, 
and the publication of a supplementary volume. • 

. There are some other sources of information in New York State. The private 
library of the late Gordon L. Ford, 97 Clark Street, Brooklyn, now owned by his 
sons, and in the immediate care of Mr. Paul L. Ford, is probably the most valu¬ 
able collection of Americana in existence in private hands. It contains histories, 
journals of committees of safety, letters and papers, without number. 

The New York Historical Society at 170 Second Avenue, New York City, 
also contains a large amount of material, which is at the service of those who call 
in person. The Society does not undertake to make searches. And it ought to 
be mentioned that their experience is that, as a rule, the State archives have to be 
resorted to, to verify questions of service. 

The Long Island Historical Society, Brooklyn, N. Y., has no manuscripts or 
rolls, but does have an excellent library and a large collection of original letters of 
Washington, Henry, Laurens, Gates, Steuben, Lee and others. 

The Oneida Historical Society, Utica, N. Y., Gen. Charles W. Darling, Cor¬ 
responding Secretary, is the custodian of many documents, relics, manuscripts, 
etc., relating to the Mohawk Valley and Northern New York. 

NEW JERSEY. 

New Jersey has published an admirable volume, showing the names, regi¬ 
ments, rank, and services of the men of her State in the American Revolution. 
This work is the production of William S. Stryker, Adjutant General of the State, 
who has, now for fully 25 years, prosecuted a diligent inquiry in every direction 
for the names and commands of all Jerseymen who served in the struggle of ’76. 
He believes that there are no records of the services of Jerseymen in the Revolu¬ 
tion anywhere in the State, not now r in his control;- and he has possession of cer¬ 
tified copies of every roll and document, the originals of which are not in his 
possession. By this I do not mean that the book is entirely complete. It is not. 
Since its publication, Gen. Stryker has obtained the names of many more officers 
and men, and he has made a record of them all upon the pages of an inter-leaved 
copy of the book. He is, and always has been, walling to search for the proof of 
service of any New Jerseyman in the Revolution, and to give a certificate of the 
record, as authorized by law. No fee is charged. Indeed, no fee can be re¬ 
ceived under any circumstances. Applications should be addressed to Gen. Wil¬ 
liam S. Stryker, Adjutant General, Trenton, N. J. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Pennsylvania has already published 5 volumes relating to service in the 
Ajnerican Revolution, and has one more in preparation. Volume I of the 


PROOF OF SERVICE OF AN ANCESTOR . 


13 

second series of the State archives contains naval records of the Revolution. 
Volumes to and 11 embrace the men of the Pennsylvania Line, so far as they can 
be ascertained from Depreciation, Donation and Pension rolls Volumes 13 and 
14 contain lists of Associations and Militia; the reprint of these latter will show 
who were in actual service. Volume 15, now in compilation, will prese t a variety 
of rolls and records, gathered by the editor, Mr. William H. Egle, State Librafian, 
from many sources, published and documentary. Mr. Egle will cheerfully direct 
searches to be made, for the benefit of descendants of Pennsylvania soldiers in the 
Revolution. The clerk, who perforins the labor, will expect a small remunera¬ 
tion for his services. 

.Some difficulty is experienced in searching the Pennsylvania books, from the 
fact that they are not fully indexed. It would be of immense service to have an 
index of them printed. 

There are probably a number of documents in the possess’on of ^“His¬ 
torical Society of Pennsylvania,'’ 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, which will 
supply names in addition to those published in the State volume. The Society’s 
collection is very full and complete, andmcludes many unpublished documents and 
papers. The Librarian, John W. Jordan, will be pleased to permit examinations 
by those interested, but cannot undertake to do the work personally. 

DELAWARE. 

There are no records of service in Delaware, manuscript or otherwise, of 
which any information can be obtained. The State Government knows of none. 

MARYLAND. 

Lieut. James C. Cresap, U. S. N., Secretary General of the S. A. R., has 
supplied the following information, relative to Maryland. The sources of infor¬ 
mation there are: 

1. List of the officers and soldiers of the Revolution who were entitled to 
grants of land, a printed volume by John M. Brewer and Lewis Mayer, now out of 
print. There is one copy in the Land Office, Annapolis, Md. 

2. Three volumes of manuscript muster rolls of Maryland troops. Imperfect. 
Now at the Land Office, Annapolis. 

3. The Schaif Library, now in possession of Johns Hopkins University, Bal¬ 
timore, Md., which contains more than 100 manuscript muster rolls, books 
and papers, relating to service in the American Revolution. The University 
proposes to publish a history of the Maryland Line from the data contained in 
this collection. 

4. A valuable collection of documents, pape s and books has been gathered by 
the Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, to which additions are continually be¬ 
ing made. The Society has printed a catalogue of these papers. They include: 
“ Scharf’s History of Maryland,” Vol. 3 of which gives the names of many 
officers and privates, Committees of Safety, etc., of Maryland; “ McSherry’s His¬ 
tory of Maryland,” which contains various lists of officers of the Maryland Line; 
“ Council of Safety, Correspondence, 1775 to 1777 ; ” a volume of the “Archives of 
Maryland;” various County Histories, etc. 

5. George N. Mackenzie, Registrar of the Maryland S. A. R., 225 St. Paul 


14 


SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 


Street, Baltimore, and Nicholas Brewer, Genealogist, a member of the Maryland 
S. A. R., Annapolis, Md., have full facilities for research and will examine the 
records, in behalf of the descendants of Maryland Men, for a moderate compensa¬ 
tion. 

6, A volume of Maryland Archives, recently published, contains the appoint¬ 
ments and proceedings of the Council of Safety. 

VIRGINIA. 

- v 

R. A. Brock, Secretary of the Virginia Historical Society, has been kind 
enough to report that the chief source of information of service of Virginia soldiers 
in the American Revolution is the list, in the State archives, of those who received 
bounty lands at the^lose of the war. The list is unsatisfactory as to details of 
length of service, rank and regiments. The Society has in addition many orderly 
books, journals and miscellaneous records. Mr. Brooks states that he has, for 
many years, kept a set of ( memorandum books, in which he has compiled a variety 
of curious information of a genealogical character. Until recently he never made 
any charge for a search of these records; but the formation of Societies of Sons and 
Daughters of the American Revolution has made such extensive demands upon his 
time, that he must now ask for this work from $i to $5, according to time con¬ 
sumed. He has access to all the sources of information. He says that the in¬ 
quiries of the Daughters are particularly trying. 

Dr. George Brown Goode, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., has 
a large library of books relating to the American Revolution, the State of Virginia 
in particular. His assistant, Mr. A. Howard Clark, has been able to supply 
proof of eligibility to membership in the S. A. R. therefrom in many cases. 

It is not generally known that, at the War Department in Washington, there 
are a great number of volumes of manuscript rolls of Virginia troops in the Revolu¬ 
tion. Could these volumes be printed, or made accessible, they would greatly aid 
our Societies in Virginia, the South 'and the West to increase their membership. 

/ 

NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Draper’s “ King’s Mountain and its Heroes,” published at Cincinnati, in 
1881, gives many names of Southern soldiers. 

A source of information of great importance to the Societies in the South is 
now to be found in the State of Wisconsin. The Historical Society of Madison, 
Wis., has lately received, by bequest, the Draper collection of diaries and docu¬ 
ments, relating to the War of the Revolution in the South. There is a rich store 
of material in these papers, but they come to the Society in such chaotic condition 
that, at present, little can be said as to their contents. Undoubtedly, however, 
when finally arranged and the names indexed, they will supply the proof of eligibil¬ 
ity to membership in the S. A. R. to many persons. 

The pension files at Washington and Archives of the State and Pension De¬ 
partments contain the names of thousands of Southern soldiers. 

GEORGIA. 

The State Government has little in the way of records of service in the Rev¬ 
olution. In the Adjutant General’s office at Atlanta, however, there are manu- 


PROOF OF SERVICE OF AN ANCESTOR. 


15 


script rolls of seven companies of militia, and the names and rank of 129 officers. 
There is nothing else on file in the State offices, so far as known. No charge is 
made for supplying information. 

Another source to which application can be made is the Georgia Historical 
Society, headquarters at Savannah. The Assistant Librarian, Mrs. Ellen R. 
Howard, has access, not only to the books owned by the Society, but also to a 
number of rolls, records, and documents owned by private citizens. She will 
make examinations in return for small charge, based on the time consumed. 

. WESTERN STATES. 

I might add that very few of the Western States possess any records of their 
own of the American Revolution, except in the form of volumes printed in the 
Eastern States. 

Inquiries addressed to the State Governments and leading Historical Socie¬ 
ties, fail to elicit any information of value in this respect, except in the case of 
the Draper collection in Wisconsin, already referred to. 

Western men are necessarily compelled to seek for proof of service in the 
East and at Washington. Each one of these Societies would be greatly benefited 
by possession of such official records, as have been printed in the original thirteen 
States. 

RECORDS AT WASHINGTON. 

At the Executive Departments in Washington, there is a great undeveloped 
mine of most valuable material. I have had a thorough examination made at my 
own expense. While a portion of the records of the American Revolution were 
'burned at Washington in 1800, and again in 1814, much was saved from the gen¬ 
eral ruin, and more has been accumulated since, especially at the Pension office. 
It is of the utmost importance that all the records at Washington shall be collected 
from the several departments within the care of one custodian, and shall be ar¬ 
ranged and indexed. A bill providing for this was introduced in the United States 
Senate, early in the present session, and was passed by that body on March 10th. 
It now awaits action in the Plouse. *The bill provides that the records shall be 
collected and transferred to the War Department, and there assorted and indexed. 
This work will be of immense service to our Societies. It will enable some States, 
which have not yet done so, to publish books of their own, and other States to 
issue supplementary volumes. And it will supply proof of eligibility to member¬ 
ship in the S. A. R. to thousands of gentlemen in every part of the country, who 
are anxious to join our Societies. 

A brief summary of the material, which exists at Washington, may be of in¬ 
terest. 

There are no records of the American Revolution now at the Navy and War 
Departments. There were some formerly, but they were all sent, long ago, to the 
Department of State. 

At the State Department there are about 300 volumes of manuscript rolls, folio 
size, most of them about 2 inches thick. These books include the famous collection 
called “the Washington papers,” which were purchased from the heirs of Wash- 


* The bill has since been passed by Congress and is now a law. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



16 SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

ington; the journals of che Continental Congress; and the papers of Gen. Greene, 
[ohn Paul Jones and others. An index has never been made of the names in this 
collection, but one is now in preparation, (although at the present rate of progress, 
it will take 25 years to do the work). Many lists of the personnel of the army are 
scattered through these papers. The information is all, in fact, so scattered through 
these volumes, that it requires much time to make a search. Information is al¬ 
ways cheerfully given by the Department, if it can be found. The officer in charge 
asks that, in all cases, where possible, the names of the regiment in which the sol¬ 
dier served and of his commanding officer shall be given, in order to facilitate a 
search. As the work must be done out of regular office hours, a small fee is 
charged. \ 

One of the books at the State Department is entitled “ Records of the Revo¬ 
lution, by W. T. R. Lasse!!, 1858.” It is a compilation of the pension laws, and 
contains long lists of soldiers entitled to pensions and land claims, including the 
complete organization of many companies and batteries. 

It is in the Pension office, however, that are found the records, most valuable 
to the S. A. R. While a large proportion of the rolls, which were originally filed 
in the Pension Office, were destroyed by burning, as before stated, copies of many 
of them have been collected since from the several States, and much new material 
has been accumulated. Enlistment records, company returns, vouchers for mili¬ 
tary expenditures, etc., have been gathered together, and these document have been 
placed in nearly 200 heavily bound books, now old and time stained, which are 
stored in a special room in the Pension Office. These records are not by any 
means complete. Many duplicate rolls which were burned were never supplied. 
Others have apparently been lost, in the various removals of the office. But the 
material on hand is, nevertheless, exceedingly valuable. 

An examination of these volumes has been made, expressly for this report, and 
I can explain in substance what they contain. Without now going into derails, 
let me say that there are 10 volumes of rolls and documents relating to New Hamp¬ 
shire troops; a few scattering facts about Vermont; 10 volumes of Massachusetts 
rolls, etc.; nearly 50 volumes relating to Connecticut troop c o relating to New 
York troops; 20 of New Jersey rolls; more than 40 of Virginia records and rolls; 
and 6 or 8 of North and South Carolina documents. There are in addition many 
volumes of commissariat accounts; rolls of artificers, dragoons, and other regi¬ 
ments; orderly books, etc., etc. 

The office of the Registrar of the Treasury possesses 4 volumes, entitled 
“Register of the Certificates issued by John Pierce, Esq., Pay-Master General and 
Commissioner of Army Accounts.” They were printed in 1786, and contain 
70,000 names The names and amount of each certificate are given, but without any 
memorandum as to command or State. An index was, however, made up many 
years ago, and still exists in manuscript, considerably worn. The number of 
names is 93,843. This valuable record was found, a number of years ago, in a 
waste-paper basket, about to be carted away and sold for paper stock. 

The records of Pensions granted are of great and precise value. In all there 
were 62,069 Pensioners of the American Revolution—37,918 of them soldiers and 
sailors, 24,151 of them widows. Lists of Pensioners were printed by authority of 
Congress in 1820, 1835 and 1883, and these books are in possession of the Pension 
Office. They give the States in which the Pensioners then resided, and not the 































